DVD released: November 30, 2004.
Approximate running time: 45 Minutes
Aspect Ratio: 1.33.1 Fullscreen
Rating: NR
Sound: Dolby Digital 5.1/2.0 Stereo
DVD Release: MVD
Region Coding: Region 0 NTSC
Retail Price: $14.95



Reviewed by:
Ian Jane on January 8, 2005.

Formed from the ashes of Rocket From The Tombs (Cheetah Crome and Johnny Blitz played in this band before they split up and the other members went on to form Pere Ubu), the Dead Boys, who were known for a brief period of time as Frankenstein, got their start playing the seedy clubs of Cleveland, Ohio. Soon though, they joined the ranks of the New York punk scene of the late 70s, alongside bands like The Ramones who they soon became quite friendly with. It was this friendship with Joey Ramone that lead to the Dead Boys getting a shot at a CBGB’s gig. 

The try out gig went well for the band, and Hilly Kristal, who owned the famous landmark bar in the Bowery in New York City, even wound up managing The Dead Boys for a while after that.

Under the guidance of Kristal and with the continued help of The Ramones, the four punks from Cleveland slowly but surely carved out a pretty decent niche for themselves and soon enough they found themselves with a bit of a following of their own.

The band did a fantastic job of blending the pissed off punk attitude of British pioneers like the Sex Pistols and giving it a bit of a glam rock spin by working some Stooges influenced hooks into their song writing. This gave the band their own sound, still identifiable from the snotty bratty angry lyrics and fast, pissed off guitar sound set in front of some simple but effective rhythms. 

This concert, recorded using three different cameras from three different angles, was produced by Hilly Kristal and directed by Rod Swenson. The film does a fantastic job of capturing the band in their prime - while they were still enjoying their fifteen minutes in the spotlight.

The track listing for this performance as as follows: 

While the band has long since broken up, this recording along with their studio albums (Young Loud And Snotty, We Have Cum For Your Children) serves as a testament to just how damn good they were in the roughly three years or so they managed to last. 

After they split, supposedly due to outside pressures from record companies to clean themselves up and develop a more accessible sound, Stiv Bators had a few acting stints (look for him in John Waters' Polyester), tried to form a couple of other bands with members of Sham 69, The Damned, Johnny Thunders and Dee Dee Ramone (none of which really went anywhere) until sadly the former Dead Boys front man was killed after he was struck by a car on the streets of Paris, France.

Likewise, the sound on this release is also quite good. MVD presents the film in a surprisingly lucid sounding Dolby Digital 2.0 Stereo mix that sounds clean enough to be audible and raw enough to still sound like an old punk rock show. While it’s more or less free of hiss and distortion, it still has enough kick and enough venom in it to sound young enough, loud enough, and snotty enough to truly be a Dead Boys show. There’s also a newly created Dolby Digital 5.1 Surround Sound mix that doesn’t alter too much but does fill in the rear channels with some crowd and ambient noises, making for a more detailed soundscape.

For a reasonably obscure release, MVD has done an admirable job digging up some interesting and relevant extra features for this DVD. First up are a series of vintage interviews with The Dead Boys shot back in 1977. They’re snotty and it shows, as they talk about their music and their outlook on the music scene at the time. Next up is a quirky little Dead Boys Promotional Clip, also from 1977. This is basically an advertisement for the band in video form and while it isn’t overly thought provoking or inspirational in any way, it is interesting to see it. 

For more recent supplements, MVD has provided some brand new interviews with Cheetah Chrome and Hilly Kristal. The band member and former manager have got some interesting details on the concert and on the musical legacy that The Dead Boys left behind.

The last of the supplements comes in the form of a Target Video bonus clip that features a performance by The Steel Tips.

The Dead Boys were a great band and their music kicks just as much ass now as it did then (even though I was only two when this was shot, I know this to be a fact). With that in mind, MVD’s release of The Dead Boys – Live At CBGB’s 1977 comes highly recommended – good audio and video and some cool extras make this one very worthwhile.